Template conditionals like {{#if github.event.issue.number}} were being wrapped with ${{ }} after expression extraction, creating invalid YAML syntax in heredocs:

{{#if ${{ github.event.issue.number }} }}  # ❌ Invalid - GitHub Actions tries to evaluate this

Root cause: Expression wrapping happened after extraction, so newly created ${{ }} expressions were never replaced with placeholders.

Fix: Reorder compilation to wrap conditionals before extracting expressions:

// Before (wrong order)
extractExpressions()      // Extracts ${{ github.event.issue.number }}
replaceWithPlaceholders() // Replaces with __GH_AW_*__
wrapConditionals()        // Creates NEW ${{ }} that never get extracted ❌

// After (correct order)  
wrapConditionals()        // Creates {{#if ${{ github.event.issue.number }} }}
extractExpressions()      // Extracts ALL ${{ }} including wrapped ones
replaceWithPlaceholders() // Replaces ALL with __GH_AW_*__ ✅

Result:

{{#if __GH_AW_GITHUB_EVENT_ISSUE_NUMBER__ }}  # ✅ Valid - placeholder replaced at runtime

Changes:

• Moved wrapExpressionsInTemplateConditionals() before expression extraction in compiler_yaml.go
• Updated tests to validate placeholder replacement instead of direct expression wrapping

💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.